DOJ: Trump could have more classified documents
North Carolina starts sending out mail ballots today
Also in today’s edition of “Regular Order” for September 9, 2022:
Democrats catch a GOP break in the Senate.
Rick Scott fights with fellow Republicans again.
Remembering Queen Elizabeth and Congress.
TRUMP LEGAL. The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to set aside part of her ruling which sidetracked a probe of classified documents found at the home of former President Donald Trump. The feds said Thursday that a special master can go through everything the FBI seized - but made very clear Trump cannot claim he ‘owns’ any classified documents.
BRIEFS. "The classified records are government property over which the Executive Branch has control and in which (Trump) has no cognizable property interest," the feds wrote. "A stay would simply allow the government to continue to review and use the same records — which, again, indisputably belong to the government."
APPEAL. The feds asked for a quick decision by the judge, as she told Trump's lawyers to respond by Monday. "If the Court does not grant a stay by Thursday, September 15, the government intends to seek relief from the Eleventh Circuit (Court of Appeals)."
CLASSIFIED. In 27 pages of new court filings, the feds also indicated that the judge's ruling has halted efforts to figure out what happened to documents once held in dozens of empty folders which were found at Mar-a-Lago. 48 of those empty folders once contained a classified document. And now?
MORE? There was also the suggestion that Trump might be in possession of even more classified materials - as the government argued the judge’s injunction “could impede efforts to identify the existence of any additional classified records that are not being properly stored.”
GOP. Most Republicans in Congress have been very quiet this week about this matter. But Donald Trump still has his ardent defenders. "When Republicans retake power, we will investigate the FBI’s political raid of Mar-A-Lago," said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
TAR HEEL. The 2022 midterm elections really start today. Why? Because the state of North Carolina is sending out mail ballots to voters. Yep - we are already at that point - as two months from today, we'll be waking up to all of the results from the Congress on the morning after Election Day.
NC SENATE. This first step on the way to November is also a good time to take a look at the North Carolina race for U.S. Senate. In my view, this should be a race where Republicans are the strong favorite. But it's another race where the polls show a lackluster lead for the GOP.
CANDIDATES. Backed by Donald Trump, Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) has not taken off in the polls against former State Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley. Dr. Michael Bitzer of Catawba College told me it 'feels like Budd's campaign is on cruise control.'
DEMOCRATS. But Bitzer - a veteran North Carolina political expert - makes a second very important point - that national Democrats have not barged their way into North Carolina with help for Beasley. "The lack of DC Democratic support is just as baffling," Bitzer said.
MONEY. Beasley is swamping Budd when it comes to campaign contributions (this is a common theme across the nation for Democrats). She raised $7.2 million in the second quarter of 2022 - to just $2.1 million for Budd.
FLORIDA SENATE. Another race that makes me wonder is the reelection bid of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) against Rep. Val Demings (D-FL). I can't really put my finger on it, but Rubio has just seemed off stride over the past six months - not really concentrating on a solid message. Others seem to have noticed as well.
GOP WORRY. "I think Republicans should be concerned by that race," CPAC chair Matt Schlapp said on Newsmax. Host Greta Van Susteren agreed with Schlapp, calling Demings a 'strong candidate.' That's not a good type of conventional wisdom from conservative media about a GOP incumbent.
MONEY. The fundraising numbers in this Florida Senate race are just like many other states this year - as Demings has raised millions more than Rubio, even though she's not the incumbent. I still think Rubio is the favorite. But again - I just don't think he's running on all cylinders right now.
GOP SENATE. We've told you before about the ongoing tussle within Republican circles over Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who heads the campaign arm for Senate Republicans. After bashing critics inside his own party in an op-ed last week, now Scott has used a memo to campaign donors to further defend his fundraising work.
MEMO. Scott once again took aim at GOP consultants who have openly criticized his leadership of the NRSC. "As I've said, any so-called Republican who aids and abets the enemy is in fact trying to defeat Republican candidates, and is a traitor to our cause," Scott wrote.
CAMPAIGN CASH. Scott has been under fire over a lack of money for GOP candidates. The NRSC has raised a huge amount - over $181 million - but 95 percent of that has already been spent, leaving Republicans short on money for the final two months of the campaign.
MONEY. Scott can point fingers all he wants, but Republicans know they're under the gun in the GOP bid to take over the Senate. "I expect Democrats will outspend Republicans pretty dramatically," Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said this week. "If we don't (win), then I think the blame game starts."
ABORTION. Democrats have won an important court fight in Michigan to get an abortion initiative on the ballot in November. With the increased turnout among Democrats since the Supreme Court's ruling on abortion - that may be a very good sign for Democrats in that state this November.
BALLOT. The plan would amend the Michigan Constitution in order to guarantee the right to an abortion - something which Democrats believe will generate a higher voter turnout in the Wolverine State. We've already seen how Democrats have benefited from that surge in recent elections.
NOVEMBER. Think about the string of stories I just wrote about. Close Senate races in North Carolina and Florida. Democrats with way more money coming in than Republicans. What if abortion turns out to be an issue which generates a much larger backlash than Republicans had expected?
REGISTRATION. New voter data keeps showing the reaction to the Supreme Court decision on abortion (Dobbs) is bringing in many more women and younger voters, who align more with Democrats. Look at these numbers from Arizona.
ELECTIONS. Speaking of elections, the conspiracy theories about fraud in 2020 just won't die - even though former President Donald Trump and his supporters have not uncovered any evidence of fraud. That's my column today for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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APPEALS COURT. Senate Democrats got lucky on Thursday, as one GOP Senator broke ranks to help approve Memphis lawyer Andre Mathis as a judge on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, on a vote of 48-47. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana - who had voted against a filibuster on Wednesday - was the only Republican to vote for Mathis.
BLUE SLIPS. Mathis - who will be first Black man to sit on the Sixth Circuit from Tennessee - did not have the support of either Republican Senator from the Volunteer State. In the past, that would have scuttled a nomination, what's known as a 'blue slip' objection. But, times have changed.
COVID. The reason Sen. Kennedy's vote was needed was that three Democrats missed votes this week in the Senate, due to positive COVID tests.
KENNEDY. Republicans don't have to worry that Kennedy is somehow going soft on President Biden. He made that clear in a Fox News interview. "Instead of addressing their issues, he’s more concerned with gender neutral pronouns and winning the war against oil production in America."
THE ROYALS. Lawmakers in Congress joined the world in praising Britain's Queen Elizabeth, who died on Thursday at age 96. "It is a marvel to think that in the same year of Her Majesty’s coronation, Harry Truman was still in the White House," said Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer. There were 14 different U.S. Presidents during her reign.
CONGRESS. Most of the Queen's official business related to the United States was focused on the Executive, rather than the Legislative Branch. But in 1991, the Queen addressed a joint meeting of the Congress.
KING GEORGE VI. Elizabeth's father, King George VI, also spoke to lawmakers during a special gathering in the Capitol Rotunda in 1939. Time was tight. "As Senators approach Their Majesties, their names will be announced; they will shake hands with the King and Queen without any comment," Senators were told just before the event began.
WALLOP. One Senator had an edge over all others when it came to the royals - Sen. Malcolm Wallop of Wyoming. His sister married Lord Porchester - Queen Elizabeth's horse racing manager. In 1984, the Queen and Prince Phillip vacationed at Wallop's 4,000 acre ranch outside Sheridan, Wyoming.
STUDENT LOANS. With the House returning to work next week, Republicans are laying the groundwork for an assault on President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. GOP lawmakers are demanding hearings in the House Education and Labor Committee on how the plan will be implemented.
LETTER. “Taking over $2,500 from each hardworking taxpayer, many of whom did not attend college, to write off debt willingly and knowingly taken by college going adults is unfair and unjust,” committee Republicans said, as they demanded 'rigorous' oversight.
DEMAND. Republicans want to question the Secretary of Education and the federal contractors implementing the loan forgiveness program. "This student loan debt scheme is not a legal or responsible policy, and the chaos the administration has created is unacceptable," Republicans said.
HEARINGS. Just a hunch here - Democrats probably aren't going to schedule a hearing which can be used to attack the Biden plan. Republicans will probably have to wait until next year - when they hope to be in charge of the U.S. House.
AFGHANISTAN. A year after a botched U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, Republicans in Congress are still nipping at the heels of Democrats about the details. On Thursday, GOP lawmakers highlighted a new report which showed Afghan refugees were not properly screened by U.S. immigration authorities.
REPORT. The Inspector General's report found some Afghans - who had not been fully vetted by the U.S. - were still allowed to emigrate. "As a result, DHS may have admitted or paroled individuals into the United States who pose a risk to national security and the safety of local communities," the report stated.
GOP. Republicans were furious over the details. "We're approaching the 21st anniversary of 9/11," said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ). "This type of negligence still cannot be happening."
WALORSKI. The Senate on Thursday passed a bill to rename a VA clinic in Mishawaka, Indiana to honor the late Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN). Walorski and two of her staffers died in a car crash in early August. "Jackie never lost sight of protecting our Hoosier veterans," said Sen. Todd Young (R-IN). The bill now goes to President Biden for his signature.
MUSE OF HISTORY. September 9, 1789. The Senate took a giant step forward today on what ultimately would be the Second Amendment, chopping down this House-passed text: "A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the People, being the best security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed, but no one religiously scrupulous of bearing arms, shall be compelled to render military service." No detailed debate was recorded as to why Senators made their changes, which originally was proposed to the states as the Fourth Amendment.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House next has votes on Tuesday.
The Senate meets on Monday.
President Biden’s daily schedule link.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
I wonder how better the Budd and Rubio campaigns would be without having to constantly be distracted by what a former president may say or do? Also as far as campaign donations go, Ossoff vs Handel in 2017 showed everyone that you can have the money, but you had better bring the message.